You Can Call Me Hal

[Guest guest]

Thu, 17 Jun 2004 08:25:35 -0500

HSI - Jenny Thompson

You Can Call Me Hal

 

You Can Call Me Hal

 

Health Sciences Institute e-Alert

 

June 17, 2004

 

**************************************************************

 

Dear Reader,

 

Concerning today's e-Alert, I have to disclose a bias: I

love chocolate. If I could get by on a diet of Nestle's in

the morning, Ghirardelli at lunch, and a large meal of

assorted Godivas at the end the day, I would be a happy

woman.

 

So I admit, I'm predisposed to think good thoughts about

chocolate.

 

And yet, in spite of this clear bias of mine, I seem to be

incapable of imagining chocolate as being a part of a

healthy diet. In fact, I keep my chocolate intake to a bare

minimum (reluctantly) because of everything I've learned

over the past few years about the negative effects that

refined sugar has on health.

 

So you might think I'd be delighted to come across a study

that demonstrates how eating chocolate can improve blood

vessel function.

 

Well, no. In spite of my bias, this new study is transparent

malarkey. But it does serve a purpose: It reveals how the

food industry has become almost as aggressive as the drug

companies in shaping clinical trials to create an illusion

of proven results. You put someone in a white lab coat and

have them jabber statistics, and it seems people will eat it

up like Hershey's Kisses.

 

-----------------------------

Almost like the real thing

-----------------------------

 

I'll play along for a moment with the editors of the Journal

of the American College of Nutrition (JACN), and treat this

like authentic research.

 

As reported in this month's issue of JACN, a team of

researchers from the University of California, San Francisco

(UCSF), divided 21 subjects into two groups. One group ate

1.6 ounces of high-flavonoid dark chocolate daily for two

weeks, and one group ate the same amount of low-flavonoid

dark chocolate. Before and after the study period,

researchers measured the flexibility of subjects' brachial

arteries. Also measured were blood concentrations of

epicatechin (an antioxidant that inhibits platelet

clumping).

 

Both of these measurements improved in the high-flavonoid

chocolate group. The same measurements also improved in the

low-flavonoid group, but not as much. Conclusion: Flavonoid-

rich dark chocolate may improve artery flexibility while

increasing an antioxidant that may help prevent blood clots.

 

-----------------------------

Have we been here before?

-----------------------------

 

If the UCSF study sounds like déjà vu all over again, then

you've got a good memory. In the e-alert " Zzzzzz Inducing "

(11/27/02), I first told you about this study after it was

presented at a 2002 American Heart Association conference.

But back then we didn't have the published study to examine,

so there was no way to tell that this self-

described " placebo-controlled " study was missing one very

important item: a placebo group!

 

But that's just nit-picking compared to the most obvious

factor of this study: Chocolate as a whole doesn't improve

artery flexibility - it's the flavonoids that do all the

heavy lifting here. And the study doesn't mention, of

course, that flavonoids are plentiful in apples, broccoli,

onions and various berries - all of which qualify as real

food, as opposed to sugary treats. And then there's green

tea, which not only contains flavonoids, but also

epicatechin.

 

The reason for the focus on chocolate is pretty obvious: The

study was funded by the Mars candy company, which also

kindly supplied the chocolates. See? It all makes sense now.

Otherwise, these scientists would be giving you the same

good advice your mother gave you years ago: " Eat your

broccoli! "

 

-----------------------------

We're going to need a second opinion

-----------------------------

 

A USCF press release about this study quotes the lead author

of the study, Mary B. Engler, Ph.D., who points out

that " Additional information on current chocolate research

can be found at the Chocolate Information Center website

(chocolateinfo.com) sponsored by Mars, Inc. "

 

I had to bite (sorry for the bad pun). When I reached the

CIC home page I clicked on " Chocolate Facts, " which led to a

section called " Common Chocolate Misconceptions. " (Stay with

me here, it's going to get good.) This linked up with

a " Nutrition Fact Sheet " compiled by The American Dietetic

Association (ADA) and supported by a grant from Mars, Inc.

The title: " Chocolate: Facts and Fiction. "

 

Now... would you like to know the " facts " about chocolate

and diabetes? According to the ADA, " Eating certain foods,

even simple sugar, does not cause diabetes. " Which is

absolutely true of type 1 diabetes. But as HSI members know,

dietary sugar intake is a HUGE factor for the millions of

people who have type 2 diabetes or prediabetic conditions.

 

Here's my favorite part: " If you have diabetes, ask your

health professional how to incorporate chocolate into your

eating plan. " Yep, that'll be my Number One nutrition

question the next time I visit my doctor. (Whether you're

diabetic or not, hopefully your doctor knows enough about

nutrition to advise you to put the brakes on your intake of

chocolates and other sweets.)

 

And here's the capper: On the very same page that offers

this dubious diabetes advice, you'll find a recipe

for " Party Cookies, " which calls for one cup of brown sugar,

a half cup of granulated sugar, and a cup and a half

of " candy-coated chocolate pieces. "

 

With " dietetic " advice like this, who needs enemies?

 

**************************************************************

To start receiving your own copy of the HSI e-Alert, visit:

http://www.hsibaltimore.com/ealert/freecopy.html

Or forward this e-mail to a friend so they can sign-up to

receive their own copy of the HSI e-Alert.

 

**************************************************************

 

.... and another thing

 

Remember the computer named Hal in the movie " 2001: A Space

Odyssey " ? As Dave the astronaut disengaged Hal's memory, the

computer started losing it.

 

Well, lately, our own e-mail server has been acting a bit

like Hal and has definitely starting losing it.

 

But unlike in the movie, there was nothing sinister going on

or intentional deprogramming. In fact, the most accurate

diagnosis might be that our mail server has been

experiencing " senior moments. "

 

Sometimes, it loses track of where it was and repeats itself

over and over. As a result, some of you may have received

the e-Alert two or three times in one day. Other times, it's

almost as if it can't remember what it meant to say, so it

says nothing. On those days, you may not even get the e-

Alert from us at all. Let's be honest: Who among us hasn't

had a few moments like these of our own?

 

As I write this, the guys in our Information Technology

department are on the job, working out the kinks and

upgrading the server. Eventually they'll move us to a new

system entirely, but in the meantime, the delivery of the e-

Alerts may be irregular now and then, and you may have

trouble accessing some links that appear.

 

So if you should receive the e-Alert several times in one

day, rest assured that we're really not trying to swamp your

in-box, and we apologize for the inconvenience. But if you

don't receive the e-Alert on any given day, you can drop by

our web site, which is unaffected by these problems. Just go

to www.hsibaltimore.com, where you'll easily find a quick

link to that day's e-Alert, as well as descriptions of other

recent e-Alerts. And if there's a particular health or

nutrition topic you're interested in, you can always use

the " Search the e-Alert archives " feature.

 

Meanwhile, we'll be working on the mail service system. And

trying to figure out how we can give it some ginkgo biloba

and ginseng to address those senior moments.

 

To Your Good Health,

 

Jenny Thompson

Health Sciences Institute

 

To start receiving your own copy of the HSI e-Alert, visit:

http://www.hsibaltimore.com/ealert/freecopya.html

Or forward this e-mail to a friend so they can sign-up to

receive their own copy of the HSI e-Alert.

 

**************************************************************

 

Sources:

" Flavonoid-Rich Dark Chocolate Improves Endothelial Function

and Increases Plasma Epicatechin Concentrations in Healthy

Adults " Journal of the American College of Nutrition, Vol.

23, No. 3, June 2004, jacn.org

" Flavonoid-Rich Dark Chocolate Boosts Blood Vessel Function,

Study Suggests " University of California - San Francisco,

6/1/04, innovations-report.de

" Chocolate Appears to Promote Healthy Blood Vessels "

NutraIngredients.com, 6/1/04, nutraingredients.com

" Chocolate: Facts and Fiction " The American Dietetic

Association, chocolateinfo.com

 

Copyright ©1997-2004 by www.hsibaltimore.com, L.L.C.

The e-Alert may not be posted on commercial sites without

written permission.